A personal navigation system refers to a system for detecting a position of a person. Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) is a representative system for detecting the position by only using its own sensor without an external assistance. The PDR is a dead reckoning system developed based on an assumption that a user of an apparatus changes his or her position by walking. The PDR obtains a current position of the person estimating a moving distance based on a heading direction from an initial position by using step information of the person. Main algorithms of the PDR include a step detection algorithm, a step length estimation algorithm, and a heading estimation algorithm.
The personal navigation system is widely provided in mobile terminals, such as mobile phones, smart phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and MP3 players, to guide a user-centered path.
In general, an apparatus that executes the personal navigation system may be configured by including a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receiver, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor in a mobile terminal. The geomagnetic sensor and the acceleration sensor may be used to estimate a position of a user of an apparatus by estimating a moving direction and a step length of the user. The geomagnetic sensor is used to detect an azimuth angle by measuring a magnitude of a magnetic field. The moving direction of the user is determined by using the azimuth angle detected through the geomagnetic sensor. In this regard, an axis of the geomagnetic sensor is assumed to match the moving direction of the user or an angle at which the mobile terminal is mounted is assumed to be known in advance.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.